Diptera.info :: Identification queries :: Diptera (adults)
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 Tachinid fly - Gonia picea
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| Basil Crowley |
Posted on 15-03-2011 15:36
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Member Location: Southern England Posts: 58 Joined: 21.04.09 |
Photographed this yesterday (14 March 2011). Found in a not very happy state on the floor of the conservatory (could have flown in from outside). Body length: 10mm General location: Rural farmland, Oxfordshire, S England. I have tentatively identified this as a tachinid fly, possibly Baumhaueria sp. Any help on getting a positive id would be appreciated. Thanks. Basil Basil Crowley attached the following image:  [35.5Kb] Edited by Basil Crowley on 15-03-2011 16:10 |
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| Basil Crowley |
Posted on 15-03-2011 15:39
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Member Location: Southern England Posts: 58 Joined: 21.04.09 |
Here is a another image...
Basil Crowley attached the following image:  [40.36Kb] |
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| Basil Crowley |
Posted on 15-03-2011 15:46
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Member Location: Southern England Posts: 58 Joined: 21.04.09 |
... and another, a closeup of the head.
Basil Crowley attached the following image:  [88.36Kb] Edited by Basil Crowley on 15-03-2011 15:47 |
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| ChrisR |
Posted on 15-03-2011 15:47
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 Administrator Location: Reading, England Posts: 7699 Joined: 12.07.04 |
Hi Basil - nice fly - it is indeed a tachinid but Baumhaueria isn't British. The wide frons and unusual head shape with no orange markings on the abdomen make it a Gonia picea  This is a fairly unusual species in England so it would be nice to have the full data, including map-reference of the location. If you'd like to PM me the data then I'll pass that on to my colleague who manages the recording scheme database PS: I live a bit south of you near Reading and have never seen one - perhaps I should get out more this week and check local woodlands
Edited by ChrisR on 15-03-2011 15:48 Manager of the UK Species Inventory in the Angela Marmont Centre for UK Biodiversity at the Natural History Museum, London. |
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| Zeegers |
Posted on 15-03-2011 21:24
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Member Location: Soest, NL Posts: 18729 Joined: 21.07.04 |
Local grasslands, that would be Could we get a headshot straight from front and/of a dorsal picture of the last tergites, just to make very very sure we are not dealing with a melanistic ornata ? Thanks Theo |
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| Basil Crowley |
Posted on 19-03-2011 02:07
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Member Location: Southern England Posts: 58 Joined: 21.04.09 |
Hi, I have sent the specimen to Chris, so he will be able to sort out any issues with the identification. What exactly is a melanistic ornata?  Basil |
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| ChrisR |
Posted on 19-03-2011 02:34
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Administrator Location: Reading, England Posts: 7699 Joined: 12.07.04 |
Thanks Basil - I will let you know when it gets here Theo just means that G.ornata is a bit variable and occasionally you get very dark (melanistic) ones
Manager of the UK Species Inventory in the Angela Marmont Centre for UK Biodiversity at the Natural History Museum, London. |
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| ChrisR |
Posted on 21-03-2011 19:20
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Administrator Location: Reading, England Posts: 7699 Joined: 12.07.04 |
OK, I have had a look at the specimen and I am happy that it is Gonia picea ... I have looked at the possibility of a dark ornata but I can't make it fit. Either way, it's a very nice record - thanks Basil
Manager of the UK Species Inventory in the Angela Marmont Centre for UK Biodiversity at the Natural History Museum, London. |
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| Zeegers |
Posted on 21-03-2011 20:09
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Member Location: Soest, NL Posts: 18729 Joined: 21.07.04 |
I did not mean to imply I suspected it was ornata, I just couldn't tell. And it was pretty early in the year for picea. Thanks for sorting that out Theo |
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| ChrisR |
Posted on 21-03-2011 20:20
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Administrator Location: Reading, England Posts: 7699 Joined: 12.07.04 |
No problem _ I appreciate when you point out these potential ambiguities so it was worth running carefully in the key. But for this specimen things like the T5 dusting just pointed to picea (<0.3x) ... the parafacial vs face width was about 0.6x (male) but a little hard to judge, without some prior experience.
Edited by ChrisR on 21-03-2011 20:23 Manager of the UK Species Inventory in the Angela Marmont Centre for UK Biodiversity at the Natural History Museum, London. |
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